The story of the miserly knight. "The Stingy Knight"

« Stingy Knight» analysis of the work - theme, idea, genre, plot, composition, characters, issues and other issues are discussed in this article.

History of creation

“The Miserly Knight” was conceived in 1826, and completed in the Boldin autumn of 1830. Published in 1836 in the magazine “Sovremennik”. Pushkin gave the play the subtitle “From Chenston’s tragicomedy.” But the writer is from the 18th century. Shenston (in the tradition of the 19th century his name was written Chenston) there was no such play. Perhaps Pushkin referred to a foreign author so that his contemporaries would not suspect that the poet was describing his relationship with his father, known for his stinginess.

Theme and plot

Pushkin's play “The Miserly Knight” is the first work in a cycle of dramatic sketches, short plays, which were later called “Little Tragedies.” Pushkin intended in each play to reveal some side human soul, all-consuming passion (stinginess in “The Stingy Knight”). Spiritual qualities and psychology are shown in sharp and unusual plots.

Heroes and images

The Baron is rich, but stingy. He has six chests full of gold, from which he does not take a penny. Money is not servants or friends for him, as for the moneylender Solomon, but masters. The Baron does not want to admit to himself that money has enslaved him. He believes that thanks to the money sleeping peacefully in his chests, everything is within his control: love, inspiration, genius, virtue, work, even villainy. The Baron is ready to kill anyone who encroaches on his wealth, even his own son, whom he challenges to a duel. The duke prevents the duel, but the baron is killed by the very possibility of losing money. The passion with which the baron is obsessed consumes him.

Solomon has a different attitude towards money: it is a way to achieve a goal, to survive. But, like the baron, he does not disdain anything for the sake of enrichment, suggesting that Albert poison his own father.

Albert is a worthy young knight, strong and brave, winning tournaments and enjoying the favor of the ladies. He is completely dependent on his father. The young man has nothing to buy a helmet and armor, a dress for a feast and a horse for a tournament, only out of despair he decides to complain to the duke.

Albert has wonderful spiritual qualities, he is kind, gives the last bottle of wine to the sick blacksmith. But he is broken by circumstances and dreams of the time when the gold will be inherited by him. When the moneylender Solomon offers to set Albert up with a pharmacist who sells poison to poison his father, the knight expels him in disgrace. And soon Albert already accepts the baron’s challenge to a duel; he is ready to fight to the death with his own father, who insulted his honor. The Duke calls Albert a monster for this act.

The Duke in the tragedy is a representative of the authorities who voluntarily took on this burden. The Duke calls his age and the hearts of people terrible. Through the lips of the Duke, Pushkin also speaks about his time.

Issues

In every little tragedy, Pushkin gazes intently at some vice. In The Miserly Knight, this destructive passion is avarice: the change in personality of a once worthy member of society under the influence of vice; the hero's submission to vice; vice as a cause of loss of dignity.

Conflict

The main conflict is external: between a stingy knight and his son, who claims his share. The Baron believes that wealth must be suffered so as not to be squandered. The Baron's goal is to preserve and increase, Albert's goal is to use and enjoy. The conflict is caused by a clash of these interests. It is aggravated by the participation of the Duke, to whom the Baron is forced to slander his son. The strength of the conflict is such that only the death of one of the parties can resolve it. Passion destroys the stingy knight; the reader can only guess about the fate of his wealth.

Composition

There are three scenes in the tragedy. From the first, the reader learns about the heavy financial situation Albert, associated with his father's stinginess. The second scene is a monologue of a stingy knight, from which it is clear that passion has completely taken possession of him. In the third scene, the just duke intervenes in the conflict and unwittingly becomes the cause of the death of the hero obsessed with passion. The climax (the death of the baron) is adjacent to the denouement - the Duke’s conclusion: “A terrible age, terrible hearts!”

Genre

"The Miserly Knight" is a tragedy, that is, a dramatic work in which main character dies. Small size Pushkin achieved his tragedies by excluding everything unimportant. Pushkin's goal is to show the psychology of a person obsessed with the passion of stinginess. All “Little Tragedies” complement each other, creating a three-dimensional portrait of humanity in all its diversity of vices.

Style and artistic originality

All “Little Tragedies” are intended not so much for reading as for staging: how theatrical the stingy knight looks in a dark basement among gold flickering in the light of a candle! The dialogues of the tragedies are dynamic, and the monologue of the miserly knight is a poetic masterpiece. The reader can see how a bloody villain crawls into the basement and licks the hand of a stingy knight. The images of The Miserly Knight are impossible to forget.

All of Pushkin's works are filled with galleries of various images. Many captivate the reader with their nobility, feeling self-esteem or courage. On wonderful creativity More than one generation has grown up with Alexander Sergeevich. Reading his poems, poems and fairy tales, people of different ages get great pleasure. The same can be said about the work "The Miserly Knight". His heroes and their actions make even the youngest lover of Alexander Sergeevich’s work think.

Meet the brave but poor knight

Our article will only outline summary. "The Miserly Knight", however, is worthy of familiarizing yourself with the tragedy in the original. So let's get started...

A young knight, whose name is Albert, is going to the next tournament. He asked Ivan's servant to bring his helmet. As it turned out, it was pierced through. The reason for this was his previous participation in the battle with the knight Delorge. Albert is upset. But Ivan tries to console his master, saying that there is no need to be sad about the damaged helmet. After all, young Albert still repaid the offender. The enemy has still not recovered from the terrible blow.

But the knight replies that it was the damaged helmet that gave him heroism. It was stinginess that became the reason to finally defeat the enemy. Albert complains about his poverty and modesty, which did not allow him to remove Delorge’s helmet. He tells the servant that during dinners with the Duke, all the knights sit at the table in luxurious outfits, which are made from expensive fabrics, while Albert, due to lack of money to buy new clothes you have to be present in armor...

This is how the tragedy itself begins, and from this we began to present its summary.

"The Miserly Knight": the appearance of a new hero of the work

Young Albert, in his conversation with a servant, mentions his father, who is such a stingy old baron that not only does he not allocate money for clothes, but he also spares money for new weapons and a horse. There is also an old Jewish moneylender named Solomon. The young knight often used his services. But now this creditor also refuses to lend to him. Only subject to collateral.

But what can a poor knight give as bail except his uniform and good name! Albert even tried to persuade the moneylender, saying that his father was already very old and would probably die soon, and, accordingly, all the huge fortune he owned would go to Albert. Then he will definitely be able to pay off all his debts. But Solomon was not convinced by this argument either.

The meaning of money in a person’s life, or his attitude towards it

Solomon himself, mentioned by the knight, appears. Albert, taking this opportunity, wants to beg him for another sum. But the moneylender, although gently but firmly, refuses him. He explains to the young knight that his father is still quite healthy and will live even thirty years. Albert is sad. After all, then he will be fifty years old and will no longer need the money.

To which the Jewish moneylender reprimands the young man that he is wrong. At any age, a person needs money. It’s just that at every stage of life people approach wealth differently. Young people are mostly too careless, but older people find true friends in them. But Albert argues with Solomon, describing his father's attitude towards wealth.

He denies himself everything, and puts the money in chests, which he then guards like a dog. AND the only hope For young man- that the time will come when he will be able to take advantage of all this wealth. How do the events that our summary describes further develop? "The Miserly Knight" tells the reader about the terrible advice that Solomon gives to young Albert.

When Solomon sees in what plight There is a young knight, who hints and advises him to speed up his father’s departure to another world by giving him poison to drink. When Albert realized the meaning of the moneylender’s hints, he was even going to hang him, he was so outraged. The frightened Jew tries to offer him money to avoid punishment, but the knight kicks him out.

Upset, Albert asks the servant to bring wine. But Ivan says that there is none left in the house. And then the young man decides to turn to the Duke for help and tell him about his misfortunes, as well as about his stingy father. Albert cherishes the hope that he will at least be able to force his father to support him as he should.

The Greedy Baron, or a description of a new character

What happens next in the tragedy? Let's continue with the summary. The stingy knight finally appears to us in person: the author introduces the reader to the father of poor Albert. The old man went to the basement, where he hides all his gold, in order to carry another handful of coins. Having opened all the chests filled with wealth, the baron lights a few candles and sits nearby to admire his fortune. All of Pushkin's works very vividly convey the images of the characters, and this tragedy is no exception.

The Baron remembers how he came into possession of each of these coins. Many of them brought people a lot of tears. Some even caused poverty and death. It even seems to him that if you collect all the tears shed for this money together, a flood will certainly happen. And then the thought occurs to him that after his death, an heir who did not deserve it at all will begin to use all this wealth.

Leads to indignation. This is how Alexander Sergeevich describes Father Albert in his work “The Stingy Knight.” An analysis of the entire tragedy will help the reader understand what this attitude towards money and neglect of his own son led the baron to.

Meeting of a greedy father and a beggar son

In fashion, the knight at this time tells the Duke about his misfortunes, about his greedy father and lack of maintenance. And he promises the young man to help convince the baron to be more generous. After some time, the father himself appeared at the palace. The Duke ordered the young man to hide in the next room, and he himself began to inquire about the baron’s health, why he so rarely appears at court, and also about where his son was.

The old man suddenly begins to complain about the heir. Allegedly, young Albert wants to kill him and take over the wealth. The Duke promises to punish the young man. But he himself runs into the room and calls the baron a liar. Then the angry father throws the glove to his son, and the young man accepts it. The Duke is not only surprised, but also outraged. He took away this symbol of the upcoming fight and kicked both of them out of the palace. But the old man’s health could not withstand such shocks, and he died on the spot. This is how it ends latest events works.

“The Stingy Knight” - which not only introduced the reader to all its characters, but also made us think about one of the human vices - greed. It is she who often destroys the relationship between close friends and relatives. Money sometimes makes people do inhumane things. Many of Pushkin's works are filled deep meaning and point out to the reader one or another shortcoming of a person.

In the tower.

Albert and Ivan

Albert

By all means in the tournament
I will appear. Show me the helmet, Ivan.

Ivan hands him a helmet.

Punched through, damaged. Impossible
Put it on. I need to get a new one.
What a blow! damned Count Delorge!

Ivan

And you repaid him handsomely:
How you knocked him out of the stirrups,
He lay dead for a day - and it’s unlikely
I recovered.

Albert

But still he is not at a loss;
His breastplate is intact Venetian,
And his own chest: it doesn’t cost him a penny;
No one else will buy it for themselves.
Why didn’t I take off his helmet right there?
I would take it off if I weren’t ashamed
I'll give you the Duke too. Damn Count!
He'd rather punch my head in.
And I need a dress. For the last time
All the knights sat here in the atlas
Yes to velvet; I was alone in armor
At the ducal table. I made an excuse
I got to the tournament by accident.
What will I say today? O poverty, poverty!
How she humbles our hearts!
When Delorge with his heavy spear
He pierced my helmet and galloped past,
And with my head open I spurred
My Emir, rushed like a whirlwind
And he threw the count twenty steps away,
Like a little page; like all the ladies
They rose from their seats when Clotilde herself
Covering her face, she involuntarily screamed,
And the heralds praised my blow, -
Then no one thought about the reason
And my courage and wondrous strength!
I was furious about the damaged helmet,
What was the fault of heroism? - stinginess.
Yes! It’s not difficult to get infected here
Under one roof with my father.
What about my poor Emir?

Ivan

He keeps limping.
You can't drive it yet.

Albert

Well, there’s nothing to do: I’ll buy Bay.
Inexpensive and they ask for it.

Ivan

Inexpensive, but we don’t have money.

Albert

What does the idle Solomon say?

Ivan

He says he can't take it anymore
To lend you money without collateral.

Albert

Mortgage! where can I get a mortgage, devil!

Ivan

I told you.

Albert

Ivan

He groans and squeezes.

Albert

Yes, you should have told him that my father
Rich himself, like a Jew, whether it’s early or late
I inherit everything.

Ivan

I spoke.

Albert

Ivan

He squeezes and groans.

Albert

What a grief!

Ivan

He himself wanted to come.

Albert

Well, thank God.
I won't release him without a ransom.

They knock on the door.

The Jew enters.

Your servant is low.

Albert

Ah, buddy!
Damned Jew, venerable Solomon,
Come here, I hear you,
You don't believe in debt.

Ah, dear knight,
I swear to you: I would be glad... I really can’t.
Where can I get money? I'm completely ruined
All the knights are diligently helping.
Nobody pays. I wanted to ask you
Can't you give me at least some of it...

Albert

Robber!
Yes, if only I had money,
Would I bother with you? That's enough,
Don't be stubborn, my dear Solomon;
Give me some chervonets. Give me a hundred
Until you get searched.

A hundred!
If only I had a hundred ducats!

Albert

Listen:
Aren't you ashamed of your friends?
Don't help out?

I swear to you...

Albert

Full, full.
Are you asking for a deposit? what nonsense!
What will I give you as a pledge? pig skin?
Whenever I could pawn something, long ago
I would have sold it. Ile of a knight's word
Isn't it enough for you, dog?

Your word,
As long as you are alive means a lot, a lot.
All the chests of the Flemish rich
Like a talisman it will unlock for you.
But if you pass it on
To me, a poor Jew, and yet
You will die (God forbid), then
In my hands it will be like
The key to a box thrown into the sea.

Albert

Will my father outlive me?

Who knows? our days are not numbered by us;
The young man blossomed in the evening, but today he died,
And here are his four old men
They are carried on hunched shoulders to the grave.
Baron is healthy. God willing - ten, twenty years
He will live twenty-five and thirty.

Albert

You're lying, Jew: yes, in thirty years
I'll be fifty, then I'll get money
What will it be useful to me?

Money? - money
Always, at any age, suitable for us;
But the young man is looking for nimble servants in them
And without regret he sends here and there.
The old man sees them as reliable friends
And he protects them like the apple of his eye.

Albert

ABOUT! my father has no servants and no friends
He sees them as masters; and he serves them himself.
And how does it serve? like an Algerian slave,
Like a chained dog. In an unheated kennel
Lives, drinks water, eats dry crusts,
He doesn't sleep all night, he keeps running and barking.
And the gold is calm in the chests
Lies to himself. Shut up! some day
It will serve me, it will forget to lie down.

Yes, at the baron's funeral
Will spill more money, rather than tears.
May God send you an inheritance soon.

Or maybe...

Albert

So, I thought that the remedy
There is such a thing...

Albert

What remedy?

So -
I have an old friend I know
Jew, poor pharmacist...

Albert

Moneylender
The same as you, or more honest?

No, knight, Tobiy’s bargaining is different -
It makes drops... really, it’s wonderful,
How do they work?

Albert

What do I need in them?

Add three drops to a glass of water...
Neither taste nor color is noticeable in them;
And a man without pain in his stomach,
Without nausea, without pain he dies.

Albert

Your old man is selling poison.

Yes -
And poison.

Albert

Well? borrow money instead
You will offer me two hundred bottles of poison,
One chervonets per bottle. Is that so, or what?

You want to laugh at me -
No; I wanted... maybe you... I thought
It's time for the baron to die.

Albert

How! poison your father! and you dared your son...
Ivan! hold it. And you dared me!..
You know, Jewish soul,
Dog, snake! that I want you now
I'll hang it on the gate.

Guilty!
Sorry: I was joking.

Albert

Ivan, rope.

I... I was joking. I brought you money.

Albert

The Jew leaves.

This is what it brings me to
Father's own stinginess! The Jew dared me
What to offer! Give me a glass of wine
I'm trembling all over... Ivan, but money
I need them. Run after the damned Jew,
Take his ducats. Yes here
Bring me an inkwell. I'm a cheat
I'll give you a receipt. Don't enter it here
Judas of this... Or no, wait,
His ducats will smell like poison,
Like the silver pieces of his ancestor...
I asked for wine.

Ivan

We have wine -
Not a bit.

Albert

And what he sent me
A gift from Spain Remon?

Ivan

I finished the last bottle this evening
To the sick blacksmith.

Albert

Yes, I remember, I know...
So give me some water. Damn life!
No, it’s decided - I’ll go look for council
From the Duke: let them force father
Hold me like a son, not like a mouse,
Born underground.

Scene II

Basement.

Baron

Like a young rake waiting for a date
With some wicked libertine
Or a fool, deceived by him, so am I
I've been waiting all day for minutes to get off.
To my secret basement, to my faithful chests.
Happy day! I can today
To the sixth chest (to the chest still incomplete)
Pour in a handful of accumulated gold.
Not much, it seems, but little by little
Treasures are growing. I read somewhere
That the king would once give his soldiers
He ordered the earth to be demolished, handful by handful, into a pile,
And the proud hill rose - and the king
I could look around with joy from above
And the valley, covered with white tents,
And the sea where the ships fled.
So I, bringing the poor handful by handful
I’m used to my tribute here in the basement,
He lifted up my hill - and from its height
I can look at everything that is under my control.
What is beyond my control? like some kind of demon
From now on I can rule the world;
As soon as I want, palaces will be erected;
To my magnificent gardens
The nymphs will come running in a playful crowd;
And the muses will bring me their tribute,
And the free genius will become my slave,
And virtue and sleepless labor
They will humbly await my reward.
I will whistle, and obediently, timidly
Bloody villainy will creep in,
And he will lick my hand and my eyes
Look, there is a sign of my reading in them.
Everything obeys me, but I obey nothing;
I am above all desires; I am calm;
I know my strength: I have enough
This consciousness...
(Looks at his gold.)
It doesn't seem like much
And how many human worries,
Deceptions, tears, prayers and curses
It is a heavy representative!
There is an old doubloon here... here he is. Today
The widow gave it to me, but first
Half a day in front of the window with three children
She was on her knees howling.
It rained, and stopped, and then started again,
The pretender did not move; I could
Drive her away, but something whispered to me,
What husband's debt she brought to me
And he won’t want to be in jail tomorrow.
And this one? This one was brought to me by Thibault -
Where could he, the sloth, the rogue, get it?
He stole it, of course; or maybe
There on high road, at night, in the grove...
Yes! if all the tears, blood and sweat,
Spilled for everything that is stored here,
Suddenly everyone emerged from the bowels of the earth,
It would be a flood again - I would choke
In my cellars of the faithful. But it's time.
(Wants to unlock the chest.)
Every time I want a chest
My unlock, I fall into heat and trembling.
Not fear (oh no! who should I be afraid of?
I have my sword with me: it is responsible for gold
Honest damask steel), but my heart is tight
Some unknown feeling...
Doctors assure us: there are people
Those who find pleasure in killing.
When I put the key in the lock, the same
I feel what I should feel
They are stabbing the victim with a knife: nice
And scary together.
(Unlocks the chest.)
This is my bliss!
(Pours in money.)
Go, you've got plenty of time to scour the world,
Serving the passions and needs of man.
Fall asleep here in the sleep of strength and peace,
How the gods sleep in the deep skies...
I want to throw myself a feast today:
I will light a candle in front of each chest,
And I’ll unlock them all, and I’ll stand there myself
Among them, look at the shining piles.
(Lights candles and unlocks the chests one by one.)
I reign!.. What a magical shine!
Obedient to me, my power is strong;
In her is happiness, in her is my honor and glory!
I reign... but who will follow me
Will he take power over her? My heir!
Madman, young spendthrift,
Libertine riotous interlocutor!
As soon as I die, he, he! will come down here
Under these peaceful, silent arches
With a crowd of caresses, greedy courtiers.
Having stolen the keys from my corpse,
He will open the chests with laughter.
And my treasures will flow
In satin ripped pockets.
He will break the sacred vessels,
He will give the dirt the royal oil to drink -
He will waste... And by what right?
Did I get all this for nothing?
Or jokingly, like a player who
Rattling bones and raking piles?
Who knows how many bitter abstinences,
Bridled passions, heavy thoughts,
Daytime worries, sleepless nights for me
Was it all worth it? Or the son will say,
That my heart is overgrown with moss,
That I didn't know the desires that made me
And conscience never gnawed, conscience,
A clawed beast, scraping the heart, conscience,
Uninvited guest, annoying interlocutor,
The lender is rude, this witch,
From which the month and the graves fade
They get embarrassed and send out the dead?..
No, first suffer for yourself wealth,
And then we'll see if he becomes unhappy
To squander what you have acquired with blood.
Oh, if only I could from unworthy glances
I hide the basement! oh, if only from the grave
I could come as a sentry shadow
Sit on the chest and away from the living
Keep my treasures as they are now!..

In the palace.

Albert

Believe me, sir, I endured for a long time
The shame of bitter poverty. If not for extremes,
You wouldn't have heard my complaint.

Duke

I believe, I believe: noble knight,
Someone like you won't blame his father
Without extremes. There are few such depraved ones...
Rest assured: your father
I will advise you in private, without noise.
I'm waiting for him. We haven't seen each other for a long time.
He was my grandfather's friend. I remember,
When I was still a child, he
He put me on his horse
And covered with his heavy helmet,
Like a bell.
(Looks out the window.)
Who is this?
Isn't it him?

Albert

Yes, he is, sir.

Duke

Come on
To that room. I'll call you.

Albert leaves; The Baron enters.

Baron,
I am glad to see you cheerful and healthy.

Baron

I am happy, sir, that I was able
Appear according to your orders.

Duke

We parted a long time ago, Baron.
Do you remember me?

Baron

Me, sir?
I can see you now. Oh you were
The child is playful. I'm the late Duke
Said: Philip (he called me
Always Philip), what do you say? A?
In twenty years, really, you and me,
We will be stupid in front of this guy...
In front of you, that is...

Duke

We are now acquaintances
Let's resume. You forgot my yard.

Baron

Old, sir, I am today: at court
What should I do? You are young; love you
Tournaments, holidays. And I'm on them
I'm no good anymore. God will give war, so will I
Ready, groaning, to mount the horse again;
The old sword will still have enough strength
Bare my trembling hand for you.

Duke

Baron, we know your zeal;
You were my grandfather's friend; my father
I respected you. And I always believed
You are a faithful, brave knight - but we will sit down.
Baron, do you have children?

Baron

One son.

Duke

Why don’t I see him with me?
You're bored with the yard, but it's decent for him
It is his age to be with us.

Baron

My son does not like noisy, social life;
He is of a wild and gloomy disposition -
He always wanders around the castle in the forests,
Like a young deer.

Duke

Bad
He should be shy. We'll teach you right away
It is for fun, for balls and tournaments.
Send it to me; assign it to your son
Decent content...
You frown, you are tired from the road,
Perhaps?

Baron

Sir, I am not tired;
But you confused me. In front of you
I wouldn't like to admit it, but I
You are forced to talk about your son
What I would like to hide from you.
He, sir, unfortunately, is unworthy
No favors, no your attention.
He spends his youth in a riot,
In low vices...

Duke

This is because
Baron, that he is alone. Solitude
And idleness destroys young people.
Send him to us: he will forget
Habits born in the wilderness.

Baron

Forgive me, but, really, sir,
I cannot agree to this...

Duke

But why?

Baron

Fire the old man...

Duke

I demand: tell me the reason
Your refusal.

Baron

I'm on my son
Angry.

Duke

Baron

For an evil crime.

Duke

Tell me, what does it consist of?

Baron

Excuse me, Duke...

Duke

It's very strange
Or are you ashamed of him?

Baron

Yes... it's a shame...

Duke

But what did he do?

Baron

He... he me
I wanted to kill.

Duke

Kill! so I'll judge
I will betray him as a black villain.

Baron

I won’t prove it, even though I know
That he really longs for my death,
At least I know that he attempted
Me…

Duke

Baron

Rob.

Albert rushes into the room.

Albert

Baron, you are lying.

Duke
(to son)

How dare you?..

Baron

Are you here! you, you dared me!..
You could say such a word to your father!..
I'm lying! and before our sovereign!..
Me, me... or am I not a knight?

Albert

Baron

And the thunder hasn’t struck yet, good God!
So raise the sword and judge us!
(Throws down the glove, the son hastily picks it up.)

Albert

Thank you. This is my father's first gift.

Duke

What did I see? what was in front of me?
The son accepted the old father's challenge!
On what days did I put it on
Chain of Dukes! Be silent, you madman,
And you, little tiger! complete.
(To my son.)
Give it up;
Give me this glove
(takes her away).

Albert

Duke

So he dug his claws into it! - monster!
Come on: don't you dare look into my eyes
Appear as long as I myself
I won't call you.
(Albert leaves.)
You, unfortunate old man,
Aren't you ashamed...

Baron

Sorry, sir...
I can't stand... my knees
They’re getting weaker... it’s stuffy!.. it’s stuffy!.. Where are the keys?
Keys, my keys!...

Duke

He died. God!
Terrible age, terrible hearts!

the stingy knight, summary of the stingy knight
play

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

Original language: Date of writing: Text of the work in Wikisource

One of Pushkin’s “little tragedies,” written in the Boldino autumn of 1830.

1 Plot
2 Characters
3 Creation and publication
4 Adaptations
5 Notes

Plot

The young knight Albert complains to his servant Ivan about his lack of money, about the stinginess of his old father-baron, and about the reluctance of the Jewish moneylender Solomon to lend him money. During a conversation with Albert, the Jew hints that receiving the long-awaited inheritance can be brought closer by poisoning his miserly father. The knight indignantly drives Solomon out.

While the old baron languishes in the basement over his treasures, indignant that the heir will one day lose everything he has accumulated with such difficulty, Albert files a complaint against his parent to the local duke. Hiding in the next room, he overhears the Duke's conversation with his father.

When the old Baron begins to accuse his son of intending to kill and rob him, Albert bursts into the hall. The father throws down the gauntlet to his son, who readily accepts the challenge. With the words “terrible age, terrible hearts,” the Duke, in disgust, expels both of them from his palace.

The last thoughts of the dying old man are again turned to money-grubbing: “Where are the keys? Keys, my keys!..."

Characters

Baron
Albert, son of the Baron
Ivan, servant
Jew (usurer)
Duke

Creation and publication

Konstantin Stanislavsky as the Miserly Knight (1888)

The idea for the play (possibly inspired by the poet’s difficult relationship with his stingy father) was in Pushkin’s head back in January 1826 (entry in the manuscript of that time: “The Jew and the Son. Count”). The Boldino manuscript has the date “October 23, 1830”; It is preceded by an epigraph from Derzhavin: “Stop living in cellars, Like a mole in underground gorges.”

Pushkin decided to publish “The Miserly Knight” only in 1836, in the first book of Sovremennik, signed by R. (the French initial of Pushkin’s surname). To avoid accusations that the play was unfinished, the publication was framed as literary hoax, with the subtitle: "A scene from Chanston's tragicomedy: The Covetous Knight." In fact, Chanston (or Shenstone) does not have a work with this title.

“The Miserly Knight” was scheduled for production at the Alexandrinsky Theater three days after the author’s death, but was eventually replaced by vaudeville (perhaps under pressure from the authorities, who feared the public’s expression of sympathy for the murdered poet).

Adaptations

“The Miserly Knight” - opera by S. V. Rachmaninov, 1904
"Little tragedies" - Soviet film 1979

Notes

1 2 Tomashevsky B.V. Notes // Pushkin A.S. Complete collection essays: 10 volumes - L.: Science. Leningr. department, 1977-1979. T. 5. Evgeny Onegin. Dramatic works. - 1978. - P. 483-521.
A.S. Pushkin. Essays. Volume 2 (edited by D. D. Blagoy). State art publishing house Literary, 1958. Pp. 492.

Works of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin
Novel in verse	Evgeny Onegin
Poems	Ruslan and Lyudmila Caucasian prisoner Gavriiliada Vadim Brothers of the Robbers Bakhchisarai fountain Gypsies Count Nulin Poltava Tazit House in Kolomna Yezersky Angelo The Bronze Horseman
Poems	Poems 1813-1825 (list) Poems 1826-1836 (list)
Dramaturgy	Boris Godunov Mermaid Scenes from knightly times Little tragedies Mozart and Salieri Stone Guest Feast during the plague
Fairy tales	The Groom The Tale of the Priest and his Worker Balda The Tale of the Bear The Tale of Tsar Saltan The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish The Tale of dead princess and about the seven heroes The Tale of the Golden Cockerel
Fiction	Moor of Peter the Great History of the village of Goryukhina Roslavlev Dubrovsky Queen of Spades Kirdjali Egyptian Nights Travel to Arzrum Captain's daughter A novel in letters The Tale of a Sagittarius Belkin's stories: Shot Blizzard Undertaker Stationmaster Peasant young lady
Historical prose	Story Pugacheva History Petra
Other	List of works by Pushkin Translations of Pushkin from foreign languages
Unfinished works are in italics

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The Miserly Knight Information About

History of creation

Theme and plot

Pushkin's play “The Miserly Knight” is the first work in a cycle of dramatic sketches, short plays, which were later called “Little Tragedies.” Pushkin intended in each play to reveal some side of the human soul, an all-consuming passion (the stinginess in “The Stingy Knight”). Spiritual qualities and psychology are shown in sharp and unusual plots.

Heroes and images

Albert has excellent spiritual qualities, he is kind, he gives the last bottle of wine to the sick blacksmith. But he is broken by circumstances and dreams of the time when the gold will be inherited by him. When the moneylender Solomon offers to set Albert up with a pharmacist who sells poison to poison his father, the knight expels him in disgrace. And soon Albert already accepts the baron’s challenge to a duel; he is ready to fight to the death with his own father, who insulted his honor. The Duke calls Albert a monster for this act.

Issues

In every little tragedy, Pushkin gazes intently at some vice. In The Miserly Knight, this destructive passion is avarice: the change in the personality of a once worthy member of society under the influence of vice; the hero's submission to vice; vice as a cause of loss of dignity.

Conflict

Composition

There are three scenes in the tragedy. From the first, the reader learns about Albert’s difficult financial situation, associated with his father’s stinginess. The second scene is a monologue of a stingy knight, from which it is clear that passion has completely taken possession of him. In the third scene, the just duke intervenes in the conflict and unwittingly becomes the cause of the death of the hero obsessed with passion. The climax (the death of the baron) is adjacent to the denouement - the Duke’s conclusion: “A terrible age, terrible hearts!”

Genre

"The Miserly Knight" is a tragedy, that is, a dramatic work in which the main character dies. Pushkin achieved the small size of his tragedies by excluding everything unimportant. Pushkin's goal is to show the psychology of a person obsessed with the passion of stinginess. All “Little Tragedies” complement each other, creating a three-dimensional portrait of humanity in all its diversity of vices.

Style and artistic originality

All “Little Tragedies” are intended not so much for reading as for staging: how theatrical the stingy knight looks in a dark basement among gold flickering in the light of a candle! The dialogues of the tragedies are dynamic, and the monologue of the stingy knight is a poetic masterpiece. The reader can see how a bloody villain crawls into the basement and licks the hand of a stingy knight. The images of The Miserly Knight are impossible to forget.